1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for promulgating engineering rules and, more specifically, to a method for serving engineering rules on a network in a manner to better ensure uniformity in design applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Designers and engineers have long relied on reference materials to guide the decision process when creating a tool or product. In the past, engineers have often relied on reference books to identify rules, parameters and intrinsic information. The means for ensuring every engineer had the same tools was to have the same reference materials on every desk. The sheer volume of information currently available to engineers, however, renders the reliance on printed material as a sole source of information obsolete.
In this age of electronics, much of the information required by engineers and designers has been moved from the printed text format to an electronic format. More specifically, information is made available to groups of individuals, through employment or membership, through an electronic network. These networks have dedicated applications and protocols that must be followed to ensure the proper information is retrieved. A major disadvantage to the systems for employers is the requirement to roll out a dedicated application on every computer utilized by every employee to route every employee to have the same resources available thereto. A further hindrance to such proprietary applications is the maintenance thereof. More specifically, each employee must be trained on the proprietary application. The proprietary application must be maintained. And, as equipment is moved or updated, the proprietary application must be reinstalled or remapped on the new equipment utilized by the employee that had been trained thereon. Such network systems are costly and encumber those requiring the reference material.
Accordingly, the present invention is a method for determining the correctness of proposed data for engineering parameters. The method uses a server side computer and a client side computer connected to each other via an electronic network. The method includes the step of obtaining a knowledge base of data. The method also includes the step of storing the knowledge base of data on the server side computer. The method includes the step of receiving the proposed data from the client side computer via the electronic network. The method also includes the step of comparing the proposed values against the knowledge base of data. The method then incorporates the step of utilizing the server side computer to prepare result data. The method then transmits the result data to the client side computer via the electronic network.
One advantage of the present invention is the ability to provide engineering rules and parameters to a set of individuals. Another advantage of the present invention is that the engineering rules and parameters will be promulgated uniformly to a set of individuals. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the architecture of the method is resident on a server side computer. Still another advantage of the invention is that the proprietary application does not have to be installed on any of the client side computers being utilized by a set of individuals.